State of Emergency Under Fire: Defense Attorneys Raise Concerns Over Rights Violations

According to the President of the Association of Defense Attorneys, the rights of numerous persons have been violated under the current State of Emergency. The measure, which took effect on June 24, has raised concerns from several legal minds including seasoned attorney, Richard “Dickie” Bradley. This month, Senator Glenfield Dennison questioned whether the alleged gang members would seek legal redress and if the SOE would end up costing the state. Today, Bradley weighed in on the concern and the government’s decision to extend the measure.

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney: “Now it’s worse. Lock me up for three months I did nothing and then you tell a lie that I am involved in some murder. You can’t tell me which murder ? You know you see with the gang thing that could stretch out from all kinds of periods. “Oh you are a gang during such a period.”, “Oh you’re a gang for this.” A hundred and sixty three young men in this city mostly are on charges for being members of a gang. One hundred and sixty odd people. So they could round up all of them who they’ve brought charges and take them for SOE and have them back there for 90 days. And then the society has become so complacent. I don’t know what it is that they’re putting in the water that we drink but we have become so complacent. If they announce at the end of the three months that they have decided to extend it for another three months nobody will bawl and holler you know ? Only the people and their family members who swear that a number of them have nothing to do with gangs. I received a hand written letter a few days ago from a mother who is beside herself and you know parents are the last ones to know but she…..bwai I don’t know. This is becoming a serious matter.”
Bradley also responded to the Commissioner of Police claiming this week that the SOE has resulted in a decrease in murders. Bradley questioned whether SOEs are effective or simply a quick fix.

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney: “I hope he’s not insinuating that. I hope what he is basically trying to say to the nation is that, yes you can’t deny that when you lock up a lot of people that the murder rate goes down. Does that mean that you’re locking up the murderers and the gunmen and the executioners and the assassins? Or is it that “Bwai mek we hold it down because they will come here and pick up more people and go with us.” Nobody to say anything, you know? Just, “yes, the murder rate go down.” Does that mean that they have only the murderers locked up with the SOE. Are there are a lot of hitmen out there. The person who killed Clayton Sanchez, 15 years of age they have a video, but it’s too… yeah, it’s too blurry for them to make the mistake. 15 years of age, jumping fence to chase a man to kill him and kill him. 15 years, but guess what? You don’t hear no talk that this year in the budget we are going to have one dozen more investigators. Highly trained, highly motivated to assist. That is where you start. You start with investigating the crime, gathering the evidence so no lawyer can go and the person walks free, get the evidence. Now let’s understand something. There are people in our society because of how we are left out,  we don’t have no knowledge, we have no information, we are poorly informed and so they would want Prime Minister Briceño, who will not do it, behave like Bukele from San Salvador. Lock up people by the hundreds, lock them up, lock them up. That is their view. And let me tell you something. The people who are speaking up for the system, this evil chancey system that we live under they benefit from the system that’s why it’s quite alright like that. Lock them up. Lock the **** up for as long as you can because the system that is creating poverty, that deprives our people of good quality education, of giving them training and skills so that they could help themselves, nobody bawls and hollers about that.  Bawl and holler lock them up. Lock them up. I can’t use the word that I want to use on your thing  but it starts with an F. Lock them up.”

The alleged gang members will remain in prison until September 24.